"I'm an old fellow from around here who works with wood. I'm looking for someone to pass my skills on to in my old age."
"I can pass my craft on to you."
"You can just call me Liu Liu."
"I don't know if you'd be willing."
Old Liu said this, but in truth, the moment he saw Su Qing, he felt Su Qing didn't need his craft at all.
In Old Liu's eyes, bright eyes were usually a sign of intelligence and health. He didn't look like a wandering beggar.
'Working with wood... a craftsman?'
Su Qing was silent for a moment.
"Thank you for the offer, Elder Liu, but I'm not suitable."
Su Qing didn't know what else to say. It was a clumsy excuse, but it let Liu Liu know that Su Qing wasn't willing to become a craftsman.
"Since that's the case... sigh... I'll be on my way then."
"If I still haven't found a suitable person, come find me if you run into trouble." Liu Liu was a little disappointed.
In this world, it was truly difficult for beggars to support themselves.
Especially in places with poor transportation and scarce resources. Neighbors were like relatives; if someone died during the day, a neighbor would likely discover them by nightfall.
Therefore, it was generally hard for beggars to get by.
They either joined underground gangs as manual laborers or slaves, or once winter came...
Unfortunately for that assumption, Su Qing was not a beggar.
And unfortunately for that logic, Su Qing could eat his fill without needing money to buy food.
Seeing that no one was at the door anymore, Su Qing silently thought, 'Thanks. If I hadn't started practicing martial arts back then...'
Before he started practicing, Su Qing had been truly weak.
But with the help of the Synthesizer, Su Qing was no longer that weak little guy.
The Cyan Snake Posture had granted Su Qing immense power.
In terms of strength alone, Su Qing could now lift a large stone over a meter long and forty centimeters high with both hands.
It probably weighed over three hundred pounds.
'And how long have I been training?'
Possessing such strength was why Su Qing had refused to become a mediocre craftsman.
'I'll continue my cultivation from now on.'
The evolved Second Layer Cyan Snake Posture was truly powerful.
Su Qing's Skill Level was only in the low hundreds, yet his strength was already this great.
Not to mention how much stronger he would be after his power improved further.
Su Qing narrowed his eyes and feigned sleep.
The night passed without incident. No Demon Fiends appeared.
Su Qing went to his usual spot and continued to practice the Cyan Snake Posture.
From morning until dusk, Su Qing was engrossed in his cultivation.
The moment he finished, Su Qing was surprised to see a little girl in such a remote place.
The little girl stared at Su Qing with wide eyes, holding a withered leaf in her hand. Her face was smudged with dirt, and her clothes were patched together from many scraps of fabric.
She looked like a child from a poor family.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?"
Su Qing asked instinctively, taking a step toward her.
But on second thought, he turned and ran away.
'It's almost dark.'
'Isn't it creepy for a little girl to appear here?'
This wasn't some ordinary world, after all.
Su Qing ran fast, not daring to look back.
A short while later, he was back in his small, dilapidated shack.
There were fires lit around the shack, so Su Qing felt much better.
'What was up with that kid just now?'
Su Qing actually wanted to go up and touch the child, but he was afraid it was a Demon Fiend.
That's why he had run.
Touching the child was a way to confirm whether it was human or a Demon Fiend.
'I should put in an extra three hours of training tonight.'
Su Qing still felt he had to practice the Cyan Snake Posture.
The more he practiced the Cyan Snake Posture, the more he could feel himself constantly improving.
That feeling of progress was just too good.
He took out three Dandelion Grass Cakes, ate them, and then continued to cultivate the Cyan Snake Posture in his little shack.
Inside the shack, Su Qing watched the firelight, feeling a little more at ease.
Time passed quickly. Three hours of practicing the Cyan Snake Posture only increased his Skill Level by 6 points.
It would still take a long time to break through to the next level of the Cyan Snake Posture.
Realm: First-class [Second Layer Cyan Snake Posture (Evolution): Entry Level (138/500)]
'Time to rest.'
Even with the Chaotic Life Body, Su Qing still needed to rest.
Even though his Physique was much stronger than before and his Recovery Power had increased greatly, he still needed to rest.
He had only been dozing for a short while.
THUD~ THUD~ THUD~
A sound like the banging of a gong echoed near Su Qing's little shack.
The ground vibrated slightly.
'What's happening?'
Su Qing snapped awake, silently pulled aside the grass door, and peered outside.
He saw a familiar figure—the little girl from this evening.
She was holding the corpse of a man in a Baiyun uniform. Her mouth was stretched open unnaturally wide, swallowing the body one huge bite at a time.
The sound of bones cracking and the loud chewing sent a chill down Su Qing's spine.
Suddenly, the little girl noticed Su Qing.
She smiled at him.
The hair on Su Qing's arms stood on end, and he shot out of the shack in an instant.
But the next moment, the little shack exploded.
'Fuck, my house!'
Su Qing had lived there for at least ten-odd days; he'd grown attached to it.
Before he could think any more about it, he felt an icy chill on his neck.
SWOOSH~
The little girl's sharp fingertips barely missed slicing open the artery in Su Qing's neck.
Su Qing dodged instinctively.
'Too close!'
The thought had barely formed in Su Qing's mind when a small, tender-looking hand shot out right in front of him.
The little girl was trying to rip his heart out.
Su Qing subconsciously slammed both hands downward.
SMACK!
He made contact. And with that one slap from Su Qing, the little girl's arm actually snapped.
"Huh?"
Su Qing was stunned.
With a flash of intent, he threw a punch with his right hand, the force of the blow whistling through the air as it landed squarely on the little girl's face.
CRACK!
The demonic little girl's head was actually sent flying.
But then, the headless body kicked out at him.
Su Qing blocked it again, taking half a step back.
At this moment, a burning heat surged through his body.
'So I can actually fight Demon Fiends now.'
"Just die!"
Su Qing's confidence instantly swelled into arrogance.
He unleashed a wild flurry of punches. With nearly every blow, the demonic girl's body would shatter, completely unable to withstand Su Qing's strength.
Punch after punch landed on the Demon Fiend. The qi and blood in Su Qing's body erupted, and his scorching-hot fists relentlessly hammered its body.
After two minutes of pummelling, the ground was a mess, but there was no blood.
There were only fragments of the demonic little girl's torso.
But the Demon Fiend was still twitching; it showed no signs of dying.
"Synthesize."
Without a second thought, Su Qing grabbed the Demon Fiend's remains and repeatedly tried to use the Synthesizer on them.
[Synthesis Failed]
[Synthesis Failed]
All attempts failed.
Su Qing hadn't actually expected it to succeed; he just wanted to completely destroy this Demon Fiend.
Because he found the bloodless, twitching flesh to be far too strange.
Finally, Su Qing ran over to the deeply caved-in head.
[Synthesis Successful]
"Huh?"
'It actually succeeded.'
[Inferior Demonic Puppet: Possesses strength slightly greater than an ordinary person. Requires flesh and blood to recover after its body is shattered. (Completely loyal to the Host.)]
'That's it?'
Looking at the synthesized item, Su Qing felt it didn't seem very useful.
Once he was certain the Demon Fiend was truly gone, Su Qing left the area.
He couldn't stay in the shack any longer.
He had to go to the southern part of the outer city.
The guy in the Baiyun uniform who had just been eaten definitely had companions, or he was from the Government Office. Staying here was absolutely not a wise choice.
As he was now, he didn't have the power to confront the Wang Family, so he truly didn't dare expose himself.
To the Wang Family, a runaway servant could be a major or a minor issue.
It all depended on how strong Su Qing became.
If he became so powerful he could wipe out the Wang Family with a wave of his hand, they wouldn't dare say a peep about the matter. They would even get on their knees and apologize.
...